Underwater Archives | Extreme Sports Scuba

20th Annual Underwater Pumpkin Carving

Posted on April 18, 2018 by Nicole Willoughby Posted in Extreme Sports Events Leave a comment

It was brought to my attention last week while searching for a blog post that we never did a recap of the Underwater Pumpkin Carving last year. Can someone please explain how this happened? The best explanation that we have come up with is… We had the Chili Cookoff, the next day the underwater pumpkin carving, and then it was off to DEMA. Plus we were gathering recipes/pictures/stories for the cookbook, followed by pictures for the calendar and whew… we just plum forgot.

The question is… why did no one point this out? Last week when we were working on the 2018 Spring Sale Post, I was on the hunt for this blog post, why I can’t remember, but I realized it wasn’t here. So… I figured today would be the perfect day to recap last fall’s underwater pumpkin carving. I mean the weather is similar, right?

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Cozumel Group Trip – February 2018

Posted on April 4, 2018 by Deb Weston Posted in Dive Trips

Time for a recap of our Cozumel 2 week trip. Grady and I went down to Cozumel a day early so that we could get everything ready for our group before they arrived.

After the group arrived for the first week, they did some shore dives to do weight checks and get comfortable with their equipment before heading out on the boat the next day. Continue reading→

SCUBAPRO Seawing Nova Fins Review

Posted on March 14, 2018 by Deb Weston Posted in Scuba Products

White Seawing Nova Fins on a diver

I became a certified SCUBA Diver in 1990 as I have shared many times throughout the blog. That means that I have been a certified SCUBA diver for 28 years this year. In that time, I have had the opportunity to dive with multiple different dive gear combinations. Last year we did a feature of our favorite SCUBA Products. One of my favorites was my Black Twin Jet Fins.

A few years ago when the Seawing Nova fins were offered in purple, Nicole bought a pair. Around that time, I started thinking I needed to try them again. They had recently been redesigned, so it was time to give them a try again. Eventually, I bought myself a pair in white. After using those Twin Jet Fins for over 10 years, it is really hard to use a different pair of fins.

As many of you may know, we just returned from a 15-day dive trip to Cozumel in early March. Before I left, I decided to take the White Seawing Nova Fins to try as well as my trusty Black Twin Jet Fins. Continue reading→

Underwater Statues in Cozumel – Ramón Bravo

Posted on March 12, 2018 by Nicole Willoughby Posted in Did You Know 1 Comment

Today, let’s cover the last installment of the statues located just off the coast of Cozumel and just to the right from Cozumel Marine World. The first statue we discussed was that of none other than Jacques Cousteau. The Second statue was none other than Sylvia Earle. Finally, the third statue is Ramón Bravo. So sit back, grab a cup of coffee or beverage of choice, and let’s learn about Ramón Bravo.

Underwater Statues in Cozumel

Statue of Famous Diver Ramón Bravo in Cozumel

Ramón Bravo

Ramón Bravo was a Mexican SCUBA diver, photographer, and underwater filmmaker who was born October 21, 1925. Bravo got his claim to fame initially being a famous Mexican swimmer who competed in the 1948 Olympics at just 23 years old.

This love of the water soon brought him to the sport of SCUBA diving. Once he was hooked, he became an underwater photographer, gaining both fame in American and Europe as an oceanographer. An oceanographer is involved in the study of the oceans physical and biological features. Continue reading→

Underwater Statues in Cozumel – Sylvia Earle

Posted on March 7, 2018 by Nicole Willoughby Posted in Did You Know

For those of you who went to Cozumel, did you have a good trip? We can’t wait to hear all about it!! Today, I figured we might stay in Cozumel. Last week we discussed the Statues that are underwater near Cozumel Marine World. In fact, we focused on Jacques Cousteau. After that post went live, I got a message that they actually dove that site last Wednesday. How fun is that? Today, let’s look at another one of the statues. Today we’ll focus on Sylvia Earle.

Underwater Statues in Cozumel

Sylvia Earle Statue in Cozumel Mexico

Sylvia Earle

Sylvia Earle was born August 30, 1935, in Gibbstown, New Jersey. As a young child, she and her family moved from New Jersey to Florida. Her parents were outdoors fanatics and ecstatic when she showed an early interest in outdoor exploration. That love led her to earn an associates degree from St. Petersburg Jr. College, a Bachelor of Science degree from Florida State University, a Master’s of Science and Doctorate from Duke University. Continue reading→

Underwater Statues in Cozumel – Jacques Cousteau

Posted on February 28, 2018 by Nicole Willoughby Posted in Did You Know 1 Comment

As most of you know (and if not I’m letting you in on a secret) we still have a group trip going on in Cozumel right now. Who is jealous? Especially of those who went for 2 weeks and missed out on the nasty cold weather last week. Since we still have a group in Cozumel, I thought it might be fun to do another post on Cozumel.

Today we’re going to feature the Statues that are underwater just to the right of Cozumel Marine World.

The Statues of Cozumel

Last year when we had a group down there, Deb and I were diving off the shore from the Cozumel Marine World Pier. That day we had a couple different groups go out. Everyone kind of dispersed in multiple directions. Deb and I went right. Not too far from the pier, we came across three statues. We knew one was Jacques Cousteau, but the other two were a mystery. Once we were back, I started doing some research and we found out that the woman statue was Sylvia Earl and the other male statue was Ramón Bravo. So the question is, just who are these people? I’m so glad you guys ask these questions ;). Today let’s focus on Jacques Cousteau.

Jacques Cousteau

States of Cozumel - Jacques Cousteau

Jacques Cousteau is kind of known as the Father of SCUBA Diving. Continue reading→

Hello from Cozumel

Posted on February 21, 2018 by Doug Lord Posted in Dive Trips

Hello from beautiful Cozumel. We’re sitting in the lobby of Hotel Cozumel. We hear a rumor that you may have ice back home. Don’t worry we have ice here too, in our drinks.

Our trip started with a 5 am flight out of Tulsa. After arriving in Cozumel, and getting through the airport and immigration, we took a short bus ride to the hotel. We checked in, grabbed a bite of lunch, and then headed to the swim beach to do our checkout dive and maybe another dive or two. Then back to the room to unpack, clean up, and off to dinner. After a wonderful and exhausting day, it was time to head off to the room to get some much need sleep.

Up early the next morning for a 6:30 am breakfast, then to meet the dive boat at the dock at 7:45 to get loaded and off before 8:00 to Cozumel’s world-famous dive sites. Continue reading→

Snorkeling

Posted on January 28, 2018 by Doug Lord Posted in Other Events 1 Comment

Snorkeling

What’s a great way to introduce someone to the underwater world? What’s a good way to explore shallow dive sites? What’s a good way to spend your surface interval? What’s sometimes the best way to get close to some of the most skittish marine life? The answer to all these questions is snorkeling!

If you’re visiting a tropical location that has SCUBA diving, there’s a pretty good chance that the same dive operation that you’re using on your vacation, can also take you to a dive site that is also good for snorkeling. Why would you want to do that, you ask? If you have a friend, parent, or significant other that has traveled with you that would like to see the underwater world, but doesn’t want to or can’t SCUBA dive. Snorkeling can be a great way to introduce and to share the underwater experience with your friend. Continue reading→

Try SCUBA

Posted on January 27, 2018 by Nicole Willoughby Posted in Try it Tuesday

Here we are toward the end of January and I’m here to tell you, it’s cold outside. Oh, that may not be new news if you’ve walked out your door any at all in the past couple weeks. What I’m actually here to tell you is even though we had to call off the New Year’s Day Dive, our 2018 dive season is in full swing.

Saturday, January 13, 2018

Two Saturdays ago we had our first Try SCUBA of the year. It was a chance for old and new divers alike to get their feet wet warm waters. It may have been a swimming pool, but needless to say, we were still diving. We had the Boyscouts join us as well as other potential divers and already certified divers. It was a fun and productive day.

While Grady, Dan, Chuck, Mark, Tori, and I were off at the pool with the Try SCUBA group, Deb was back at the shop teaching class. When the Try SCUBA session was over, then it was time for the pool class portion of the classroom. Deb has 2 new students along with 2 refresher students.

So all of this to say, our SCUBA season is off to a good start. In just a few short weeks the first group trip of the year will be headed to Cozumel. Happy Saturday and we’ll let the pictures do the talking. Enjoy!

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10 Composition Techniques

Posted on January 26, 2018 by Nicole Willoughby Posted in Scuba Education 1 Comment

Composition. This is a term you hear a lot thrown around in the photography sector, but what does it mean? Well, technically it means the difference between a good photo and a great photo. But let’s define the term first.

Composition: (noun) the nature of something’s ingredients or constituents; the way in which a whole or mixture is made up.

When dealing with art, a picture in this case, the composition can actually take your photo from good to great. While some people swear that a great photo is created by the camera, some of that really comes from the photographer knowing what they are doing. I’ve seen great photos taken by “crappy” cameras (not my words but other peoples).

10 Composition Techniques

Rule of Thirds. Make sure you know the rule of thirds. Divide your picture up into thirds both up and down and side to side. Pictures tend to look better if the focal point isn’t dead in the middle but hits one of those points where the lines cross in the rule of thirds.

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